The Yazatas or Persian gods are a mysterious race of superhumanly powerful humanoid beings who were worshipped by the ancient Persian and Median races of the Middle East from about 1000 BC to the 7th Century when they were overwhelmed by Islamic religion. In ancient times, the Yazatas once dwelled at Naqsh-e Rustam in modern Iran with their mortal descendants, but they later moved to the other-dimensional realm of Elysium, a plane of existence identified in later Abrahamic texts as the afterlife where all human souls subsequently arrive after death. It is linked to Earth by means of a dimensional access point somewhere near Mount Demavend in the Elburz mountain range of Iran.

The Yazatas are a separate branch of the Devas or Hindu gods with whom they are opposed. They share their ancestry with Aditi, the ancient earth-mother, who was loved by Purusha, a great sky god known as Zurvan to the Persians, and gave birth to the Adityas, the first generation of the Vedic gods. It is believed that Aditi was actually Gaea, the primordial earth-mother who had survived the destruction of the Elder Gods of Earth by infusing her life into the life-giving essence of the Earth. Many of the Elder Gods had degenerated into demonic status and were destroyed by Atum the God-Slayer or had fled Earth for other planes of existence. Aditi was loved by Purusha, the great sky-spirit and they sired the Adityas or Vedic gods. Purusha granted dominion of the Vedic gods to Varuna, who was overthrown by Ravanna, leader of the Rakshasas, a race of gods with demonic characteristics. The ancient Persians knew Ravanna by the name Ahriman, the king of the demons, a model for the Biblical "Satan," a Hebrew word meaning "adversary." Ravanna was subsequently overthrown by the gods Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva, rulers of the ascendant Hindu religion, who displaced Varuna as ruler of the Devas.

In the Seventh Century BC, Varuna appeared to the prophet Zarathrusta and whispered to him the the beliefs that became known as the Avestas, the books of the religion of Zoroasterism. Under Zoroasteriam, Varuna became known as Ormazd, followed by his progeny as the Amesha Spentas, the highest gods among the Yazatas. On Earth, they served in a battle of good and evil against Ahriman and the evil gods known as the Asura. The Yazatas were joined in their battle against the Asuras by a number of Vedic gods who had lost their worshippers under Hinduism, but were worshipped by other names by the Persians. These gods included Anahita (Ganga), Atar (Agni), Vata (Vayu), Mitra (Mithras), Verethragna (Kartikeya), Haoma (Soma), Rashnu (Dharma), Tishtrya (Rudra) and Sraosha (Aryaman), and were usually counted as Yazatas or Persian gods, but they were not as important as the Amesha Spentas. Under the religion of Zoroasterism, the Yazatas were the dominant gods of Persia until the invasions of the Arabs who converted the country to Islam. Although the Yazatas don't have as many worshippers as they once had, Zoroasterism is still practiced in parts of modern Iran.

The Yazatas possess certain superhuman physical attributes akin to the other known gods of Earth. They are extremely long-lived, aging at an extremely slow rate since reaching adulthood, and they cannot die by any conventional means. They are immune to all Earthly diseases and are resistant to conventional injury. If one of the Yazatas were somehow wounded, their godly life force would enable them to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of their bodily molecules to cause him a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god of significant power, such as Ormazd, or for a number of Persian gods of equal power working together to revive them. They also possess superhuman strength; the typical Persian god can lift (press) about 30 tons. Yazata metabolism provides them with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Yazata flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman strength and weight of the Persian gods.)

Several of the Yazatas resemble the Angels of Abrahamic religion and can fly by means of wings which grow from their backs. They also have affinities toward magic and can cast spells, usually centered in an area or sphere of influence they were associated with on Earth.